A 4-hour roundtrip to have lunch with an Army buddy I haven't seen in six years would have been…read moreworth it for Arby's (sorry Arby's just needed a common denominator). When you get in there, order and the food is good- bonus. I suspect that most of the dishes here are good. The place filled up quick and folks kept coming during the 90-minutes or so that we were there. Peter and I both got the Brisket sandwich, I was happy with everything, the brisket was exceptional, they have multiple sauces on the table, tried them all- solid. The fries weren't special but were hot and salty. The coleslaw is pretty basic, but I suspect that is intentional to give you a flavor reset. The service was quick, and effective. Our server came by just enough to make sure we had everything we wanted. She also realized at a certain point that we were going to sit there and catch-up and she left us alone. The one oddity (and maybe she did tell me and I missed it), was that we had to bring the check up ourselves to the register. Bonus: Met 3 guys from Sweden who had flown in to Chicago to follow Route 66 across the country. Somehow beer at 1100 works with a European accent.

This is a quaint place on Route 66. We arrived around 3:30pm. Very eclectic decor on the inside…read more Plenty of seating. The server we had was nice, friendly, and helpful. We unfortunately were in the pocket that they were out of the things I like to try in a BBQ restaurant I haven't been too. But I got a pulled pork brisket sampler. The meat was dry without the BBQ sauce which was disappointing. It should be juicy. The sausage sampler was great that my BF had. I probably won't be back as it didn't leave me craving for more, unfortunately.

Good BBQ sandwich. The worst catfish I've ever had…read more The fired pickles were overly battered and fried. Onion rings were good. Service was good.

Great restaurant! Waitress was nice and the catfish sandwich and fries were good. Great iced tea!read more

I always get the pork bbq sandwich with Apple City Red sauce and coleslaw…read more Really like the vinegar slaw on occasion. I almost always call it in and pick it up at drive through and they always get it right.

My family has been ordering from here for years. We used to get it every year for Father's Day. We…read morestopped doing that five years ago because the quality and consistency had gone way down. My dad passed away three years ago today so we decided to order it in his honor. Big mistake. The ribs and the pulled pork were way over cooked almost to the point of being inedible. I will say the cheesy potatoes were good. I wouldn't recommend to anyone let alone someone expecting award winning bbq. Sad face

What a great hidden gem. The appearance is deceiving as you drive in, but the interior is…read moredelightful. The service was wonderful and fast. The helpings were plentiful and filling.

Service and food were excellent. Small place outside of Rolla but worth the short treck.read more

Stopped in for nachos the other day, hadn't had them in years. They used to be one of my favorite…read morethings. Guess they have changed how they make them, like forgetting to put much meat on there. If you are wanting lots of beans, some cheese and bbq sauce and chips then these are the nachos for you!! What a huge disappointment!!! I'm hoping the sandwiches haven't changed also but won't order the nachos again.

I'm not from that part of the country and was driving through Poplar Bluff at opening time one…read moreFriday. The reviews were very positive, so I drove a bit out of my way to find Mike & Zack's, which was a bit of a hole in the wall, nearly always a good sign for me. I was the first customer of the day as the door was locked when I tried to enter. Must say I was a bit disappointed. For the pulled pork BBQ sandwich, there was an upgrade to more meat, which I did. I ordered baked beans as my side. Well, the upgrade to large was surprisingly small. The beans came in an extremely small container. There was one choice of sauce, which was OK, but I like a little more kick. Couldn't eat two bites of the sandwich as they were gristle. The decorations with all their awards was impressive. Maybe it was because it was so early in the day, but the bar was set pretty low.

The food was good and the service was great. Such a cute little restaurant. Not sure about the…read morewings though, they were so small.

Saturday morning and they were packed with more people coming in. We have eaten there before and it…read morewas always good. This time the menu was much smaller with less choices making you think they could handle more people. Long story short we ordered but it took us over 30 minutes to get our breakfast and it was cold. Not really worth eating. Hope it wasn't just the crowd. And as always the waitresses were very nice and working hard as usual.

We stopped in for a late lunch and had an amazing meal. My husband and I both ordered the full…read morerack of baby back ribs with different sides. There was so much meat on these ribs I could only eat 3 ! My husband loved their Brussel sprouts and green beans. My daughter had the pulled pork sandwich and it had lots of delicious meat on it. Our waitress was very friendly and was very attentive. My only complaint would be that they get bigger butter tubs for their baked potato. They were very tiny tubs with a big potato (had to ask for extra and extra !) if we are this way in future we will definitely stop by again !

Two stars because the service was good. The food, not so much. What happened here, this place used…read moreto be excellent. This time I got a pork steak, catfish, and brisket. The pork steak was over smoked or who knows what, dried out and not good. The brisket was so dry, it fell apart but was like eating thick cut cardboard. That texture you get when you lave a roast in the crockpot a few days too long. The catfish was so rubbery it almost made a squeaking noise against your teeth when you bite into it. My Aunt & Uncle had warned me about it before I went here and I should have listened. Not sure if they have new owners or what but...

We love going to the Ironton area. First time here, and we loved it!…read more The food was very good, nice sized portions, our server was friendly and attentive. They have daily specials at a good price. The drinks are served in these huge cups-great souvenir! There are a few separate areas that look like they can be used for groups. Very clean, nothing fancy. We'll return!

Just about every time we come through Ironton, we make it a point to eat at the Iron Mule. It's…read morealways good and always has great customer service. I forgot what this was called that I ate but it was like a loaded chili dog on a bed of fries. The place always looks nice and has a bar and a deck to eat outside.

Popped in for Thurs lunch favoring Pat's with fewer but better ratings and less expensive option in…read moreMurphysboro. First time...so went withh the sampler at $18 and most of their meats are included except the pork steak (makes sense to me since that's usually a separate feature in these parts along with Kentucky). It was three of us and we were given the heads up that the sampler can feed two. Figured we could start with that and order more. The order was a very generous helping of two large rib tips, two pork rib bones, two wing pieces, and pulled chicken, pork, and chopped brisket. Our choice of two sides were slaw and mac & cheese. Three buns were thrown in given the three of us in the party (thanks for the flex). Local bottled Big Muddy root beer is the same $1.50 as the can sodas in the case and it is made with honey and cane sugar. Of the things I tried, I thought the rib tips were excellent - smoked pink and moist - got a meaty piece with only a small piece of cartilage. The chopped brisket isn't my thing - I prefer sliced. My daughter said the ribs were great (figured would be as good as the tips). The wings I believe were smoked too rather than grilled and the taste from the rub/marinade wasn't something I was familiar with. Tender and not dry. Pulled pork and chicken were solid. We still had leftovers - so I'll get my chance to try the ribs and focus on the flavor of the wing. Will have to get the pork steak next time and order plates next time focusing on our faves. Roomy dining area with some tables near the windows. It was getting warm out there so having plenty of indoor seating on a quieter Thursday lunch was welcome over overflow seating outside at the covered picnic tables.

I live in the Midwest, in a small city. Our BBQ places are easy to find: look for a big, shouty…read moresign; the owner's $120,000 extended F250 taking up a space right in front of the door; and an ambiance that includes corrugated steel walls, self-consciously Texas-y lamps over closely huddled booths, and servers all wearing the same hat and shirt. Oh - and the food is usually fine, except no fried okra. Pat's is not in a city. It's outside a small southern Illinois town. Pretty far outside, in fact, which is where true BBQ is supposed to be located. The parking lot is gravel. The only pickups there belong to customers, and their worth is more in the range of $12,000, except to their owners, who use them as trucks. And the sign is a sign. It tells you where you are. Oh, wait - there are BBQ competition trophies in the entryway. Stand and marvel. There are more inside. Marvel more. Because other than these and some pics of family and locals and celebrities I didn't recognize on the walls, that's about it for decoration. Stare at the menu, menu board and signs. Pay attention to the happy person behind the counter when she tells you what they're out of, because the best BBQ places are out of something you want. Note the teasing banter between local customers and the kitchen staff, because everyone knows someone back there. And order. We got the pulled pork plate. My sister got potato salad and green beans. I got the fries. I got the local(?) root beer. They don't do fried okra, but this IS the Midwest. It all came to our table in a reasonable amount of time. The BBQ sauce came in a cup on the side. Ketchup was brought to us. So why only four stars? Everything was perfect, right? And prizewinning? Yeah, but BBQ is personal. Everyone has an opinion. I lived in northern Alabama, which styles itself as BBQ Country. As does Texas and Kansas City and Memphis and everywhere. Pat's, much beloved by regulars for its mild smokiness, juicy juicy soft texture and other features, seemed a bit too mild and even soggy to me. I know - I have no taste. And it was good. Just not five stars great. And not enough sauce in the container, though I could have gotten up to ask for more. And the potato salad was fine and the fries a little too starchy, but only a little. That said, the beans were the wonderful dark green juicy soft salty ones that are too ... wonderful. Get those. The root beer, brewed with honey, y'all, was the best ever. Get that, too. The dessert was what they were out of, dang it! Overall the experience was just great. Someplace to go back to. And you should go there.